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by Garrett McKinnon
NOLN Staff Writer
ALL
SHOOK UP
Despite Changes at the Top, Our 2011 Tops in the Industry Study Shows a Segment in Growth Mode
L
ongtime readers of National Oil & Lube News know that and other automotive preventive maintenance services. And while
if there is one thing in the fast oil change industry that there are a ton of companies out there offering quick oil change
has proven to be consistent during the years it has been services, many of them generate the majority of their sales from
our Tops in the Industry Rankings. Every year, we undertake an services other than oil changes/auto maintenance. That’s why a
extensive research project to identify and rank every chain of company like Walmart, whose Tire & Lube Express facilities gener-
fast lube stores in the nation. ate only piddling sales compared to the company as a whole, is not
We call this project, as mentioned above, the “Tops in the In- listed as a fast lube chain, but rather in a separate listing we call “oil
dustry” list, and it has proven over the years to be remarkably change-plus” chains. This oil change-plus list includes facilities like
consistent. How consistent? Well, the top four oil change chains tune-up shops, tire shops, carwashes, co-branded facilities, etc. that
(Jiffy Lube, Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, Valvoline Instant Oil perform quick oil changes, but generally not as a majority of their
Change and Texaco Xpress Lube) have remained unchanged since overall sales.
2003, when Kwik Kar briefly supplanted Xpress Lube in the number We do not require that a fast lube meet the traditional architec-
four spot. Save for a brief three-year stint from 2005-2007 when tural definition of a quick lube, however. That is, it doesn’t necessar-
Valvoline Express Care supplanted Kwik Kar in the number five ily have to be a roll-in, roll-out multi-bay shop with a pit/basement
spot, the top five lube chains haven’t changed position since 2004. system. A converted muffler shop with 10 bays and nothing but lifts
But that’s not the case this year. would qualify as long as the primary focus of the business is pro-
Before we delve into the numbers, however, we first have to de- viding consumers with quick oil changes and other maintenance
fine the terms we use in this study. For starters, what exactly is a services. By our way of thinking, it’s still a fast lube.
“fast lube” facility? Well, we classify a fast lube as any business that This definition is, admittedly, broader than that used by some
derives the majority of its sales from quick, convenient oil changes entities, but we maintain that if a majority of a facility’s income is
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derived from quick oil changes and other maintenance work, TOP FAST LUBE CHAINS — 2011 Growth Since Stores Projected
2/28/10 by 12/11
that facility should be called a fast lube.
The second term we must define is “chain.” For our purpos-
es, a fast lube chain is any six or more fast lube facilities owned
S
1
Jiffy Lube, TX
Total Stores: 1,963 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised:1,963 2010 Rank: 1 -1% 2,013
ated under the same or similar signage. That’s why a brand like
Havoline xpress lube (nee Texaco Xpress Lube), which is ac- S
3
Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, TX
Total Stores: 750 † Independent: 750 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 2 n/a Unavailable
Projection
year’s Tops in the Industry study, as well. Ordinarily, we pub- Total Stores: 186 Co. Owned: 76 / Franchised: 110 2010 Rank: 12 8% 201
lish only select data in the magazine, reserving information on Grease Monkey, CO
Total Stores: 186 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 186 2010 Rank: 10 -4% 196
oil change-plus companies, industry sales, overall store popu-
lation, etc. for a report available for sale or free to paid sub- S
11
CITGO Fast Lube, TX
Total Stores: 179 Independent: 179 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 9 -10% 194
scribers to the magazine. Thanks to Sea Foam’s sponsorship
of this year’s survey, however, we are able to bring readers the S
12
Shell Rapid Lube, TX
Total Stores: 175 † Independent: 175 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 8 n/a
Unavailable
Projection
full survey.
One final note before we examine the data: In most instanc-
S
13
Oil Can Henry’s, OR
Total Stores: 88 Co. Owned: 28 / Franchised: 60 2010 Rank: 13 1% 90
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Lube chain. Last spring, Chevron announced that this chain Total Stores: 15 Co. Owned: 15 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 39 36%
Projection
Unavailable
of independently owned shops would be rebranded as Havo- Oil Express, IL
line xpress lubes (yes, the lowercase is correct per Chevron’s Total Stores: 15 Co. Owned: 8 / Franchised: 7 2010 Rank: 30 0% 15
request). The net effect of such an undertaking is that some
350 facilities are now affiliated with the Havoline xpress lube S
36
Time-It Lube, LA
Total Stores: 14 Co. Owned: 14 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 33 0% 14
Lube Express branded program was the facility growth cham- Total Stores: 9 Co. Owned: 9 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 45 0% 9
pion last year, expanding by 29 total shops and moving up two
spots on the list to crack the top 15. Meanwhile, CITGO’s Mys-
S
48
Mr. Good Lube - New Jersey’s Oil Change Ctr., NJ
Total Stores: 8 Co. Owned: 8 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 39 -27% 8
moved the chain from 50th position to 23rd in just 12 months. Total Stores: 7 Co. Owned: 7 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 47 -13% 7
Prontolube, TX
Other notable “gainers” were the aforementioned VIOC, Total Stores: 7 Co. Owned: 7 / Franchised: 0 0% 7
which grew by 22 shops; the Mobil 1 Lube Express signage
chain, which grew by 10 stores; Express Oil Change, which S
52
Bradzoil 10 Minute Oil Change, TX
Total Stores: 6
Toot n’ Totum, TX
Co. Owned: 6 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 50 0% 6
added 14 facilities; and Super Lube, which grew by 15 facilities.
Total Stores: 6 Co. Owned: 6 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 50 0% 7
In all, 14 of the 53 chains on our list (or 26 percent) reported
*Texaco Xpress Lubes in process of rebranding to Havoline xpress lube
expanding or adding facilities during the past year. In addi- †: estimate n/a: not applicable
tion, 25 chains reported no change in their facility population,
meaning nearly three-fourths of the chains on our list either
added stores or remained unchanged, a positive sign for the TOP ASSOCIATED CHAINS — 2011
industry. S 1 North Florida Lube, FL (62 Havoline xpress lube, 2 NFL Xpress Lube) Total Stores: 64
However, there were a dozen chains that reported closing or S2 Southern Express Lube, FL (37 Mobil Lube Express, 4 Shell Rapid Lube) Total Stores: 41
selling facilities. We’ve already discussed the Pennzoil 10-Min-
ute Oil Change program, but we also estimate the Shell Rapid
S3 Pioneer Quick Lube, MI (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change) Total Stores: 25
with the Havoline xpress lube program, these three signage S5 Speed Lube 10-Minute Oil Change, IL (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change) Total Stores: 16
chains represent the lion’s share of the chains that lost facilities S6 Lighthouse Lube, WI (Mobil 1 Lube Express) Total Stores: 13
compared to last year’s rankings. S7 Express Automotive Group, TX (Texaco Xpress Lube) Total Stores: 11
Other notable decliners were CITGO’s Fast Lube signage Grease Lightning (7 Castrol Premium Lube Express, 1 Oil Doctor, 3 Grease Lightning) Total Stores: 11
program, which declined by some 20 shops (though some of S 9 Automasters of Asheboro, NC (Valvoline Express Care) Total Stores: 9
those may simply have converted to the Mystik brand); Grease Sayle Oil Co., MS (Shell Rapid Lube) Total Stores: 9
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Monkey, which declined by eight facilities; and Performance TOP OIL CHANGE-PLUS CHAINS ’11 Growth Since
2/28/10
Plus Quick Lube, which declined by three facilities. In all, most
companies that reported a decline in store population saw only
a modest reduction, a sign that the industry has stabilized after
S
1
Walmart Tire & Lube Express, AR 1
Total Stores: 2,450 Co. Owned: 2,450 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 1 -3%
five total, keeping them just under the minimum for inclusion
on our list; and Texas Oil X-Change, which was purchased by S
8 Total Stores: 837 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 837 2010 Rank: 7 -2%
While the top five chains on the fast lube list showed some fluc- Total Stores: 83 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 83 2010 Rank: 19 -2%
tuation, the top five chains in our oil change-plus list remained
the same — with a caveat. While two of the top five (Bridges- S
21
Purrfect Auto Service, CA
Total Stores: 73 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 73
VIP Parts, Tires & Service, ME
2010 Rank: 20 -9%
tone Retail and TBC Retail Group) each added more than 35
facilities, the remaining chains in the top five (Walmart Tire S
22 Total Stores: 56 Co. Owned: 56 / Franchised:
Brakes Plus Complete Auto Service, CO
0 2010 Rank: 25 0%
& Lube Express, Goodyear Tire & Service, and Midas Auto
Service Experts) each declined by a minimum of 74 facilities
S
23 Total Stores: 55 Co. Owned: 55 / Franchised:
Merlin 200,000 Mile Shops, IL
0 2010 Rank: 26 4%
(estimated in Walmart’s case). Total Stores: 55 Co. Owned: 10 / Franchised: 45 2010 Rank: 23 -7%
Strauss Discount Auto, NJ
We’ve tracked the sudden de-emphasis of Walmart’s Tire &
Lube Express chain for the past two years. After growing rap- S
25 Total Stores: 48 Co. Owned: 48 / Franchised:
Lee Myles Transmission & Auto Care, NJ
0 2010 Rank: 23 -19%
last year.
Elsewhere, Midas saw the greatest decline in store popula-
S
30 Total Stores: 34 Co. Owned: 34 / Franchised:
Conrad’s Tire Express 7 Total Car Care, OH
0 2010 Rank: 32 0%
Tire Stores, which have entered the auto service arena in a big S
40
King Bear Auto Service Centers, NY 7
Total Stores: 17 Co. Owned: 2 / Franchised: 15 2010 Rank: 39 0%
way; Honest-1 Auto Care, a franchise company with 25 fran-
chised facilities in operation; and Woodie’s Auto Service, a S
41
City Garage, TX
Total Stores: 16 Co. Owned: 16 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 40 0%
of the quick oil change arena. To be sure many still perform Total Stores: 10 Co. Owned: 10 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 45 0%
quick oil changes, but not on a corporate basis. Mr. Clean Car Wash, GA
Total Stores: 10 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 10 2010 Rank: 45 0%
We are in the process, however, of researching the exact
number of service facilities each automotive brand operates.
However, at press time we had not yet acquired enough data
S
49
Raffield Tire-Master, GA
Total Stores: 8 Co. Owned: 8 / Franchised: 0
Savannah Tire Brake & Alignment, GA
2010 Rank: 48 0%
to publish a thorough listing of dealership service facilities, a Total Stores: 8 Co. Owned: 8 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 50 33%
estimate
Co. Owned: 7 / Franchised: 0 NEW
2
dba Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus Total Car Care, Expert Tire and Wheel Works.
Shake, Rattle and Roll: Estimating the Industry’s Size 3
also dba as SpeeDee Oil Change & Tune-Up. Some stores co-branded.
Every year as part of our Tops in the Industry study, we es-
4
dba Tire Kingdom, NTB–National Tire and Battery, Merchant’s Tire and Auto Centers, and Big O Tires.
5
dba Econo Lube N’ Tune & Brakes and Meineke Car Care Center. Some stores co-branded.
timate the fast lube industry’s overall facility population and 6
also dba Mr. Tire, TreadQuarters Discount Tire and Autotire Car Care Center.
sales. We calculate facility population using a carefully honed 7
figures obtained from third-party source
8
chain owned by two separate entities.
formula that takes into account the increasing gray area that
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exists between a “true” fast lube (i.e. those companies with fa- U.S.-BASED LUBE CHAINS RANKED BY
cilities represented on our fast lube rankings) and oil change- NUMBER OF FOREIGN FACILITES — 2011
plus facilities. In other words, the formula attempts to take S1 Mobil 1 Centers, VA Total Stores: 2,081
into account the fact that many more oil change-plus shops S2 Texaco/Caltex Xpress Lube (ChevronTexaco), CA Total Stores: 1,432
are moving toward inclusion in the fast lube category simply
because they are deriving more and more of their income from
S3 Midas Auto Service Experts, IL Total Stores: 940
individual stores will, in fact, be counted as fast lubes based on S6 Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, TX
Total Stores: 75
their share of auto maintenance work. S7 SpeeDee Oil Change & Tune-Up, LA
Total Stores: 65
To that end, we estimate that as of March 1, 2011 there were S8 Grease Monkey, CO Total Stores: 61
approximately 16,716 fast lube facilities in operation, an in- S9 Meineke Car Care Centers, NC Total Stores: 58
crease of 185 facilities, or 1.1 percent. Not all of this increase S10 Jiffy Lube, TX Total Stores: 45
in facility population can be attributed to brick-and-mortar S11 Aamco Transmissions, PA Total Stores: 15
construction, as we estimate the majority comes from an in-
creasing overlap of oil change-plus facilities into the fast lube
sector. However, the formula clearly estimates that the overall INTERNATIONAL FAST LUBE CHAINS — 2011
fast lube sector grew in 2010, the first growth recorded in the S1 Kwik-Fit, U.K./EUROPE Total Stores: 1,800
sector’s facility population in more than three years. S2 National Tyre & Autocare, U.K. Total Stores: 200
Using the average car count and ticket average figures from
our 2010 Fast Lube Operators Survey, we estimate industry
S3 Petromin Express, SAUDI ARABIA Total Stores: 135
of nearly $100 million from last year. Much of that sales in- S5 Lube-X, CAN Total Stores: 51
crease will come from the fast lube sector’s growing market S6 Great Canadian Oil Change, CAN Total Stores: 42
share, which stands at an estimated 30-35 percent of the total S7 Oil Changers, CAN Total Stores: 25
installed auto maintenance market (a figure that has increased S8 Lube City, CAN Total Stores: 20
in recent years due in part to the decline in the number of new- S9 Just Lubes, CAN Total Stores: 14
car dealerships). S10 Economy Lube, CAN Total Stores: 11
Other pertinent figures that help define the fast lube industry:
• The average fast lube customer changes his or her motor oil
S11 Minit Lube, CAN Total Stores: 7
• The average age of U.S. passenger cars and light trucks stands S2 Petro:Lube Total Stores: 58
at 10.2 years, and U.S. drivers are keeping their vehicles an av- S3 Speedco Total Stores: 48
erage of nearly 50 months, a 10 percent increase from 2008. S4 Bosselman dba Boss Truck Shops Total Stores: 34
All in all, the fast lube industry has been like any other the S6 Sullivan Truck Center Total Stores: 15
past few years, as companies have struggled to balance suc- S7 Zippy Lube-A-Truck Total Stores: 9
cess against a challenging economy. For some companies, this
has meant paring unprofitable operations to focus more re-
S8 Truck PM Plus Total Stores: 8
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